Posted on 03/17/23
| News Source: Washington Times
Judaism is the most favorably viewed religion in the United States, according to a Pew Research Center study, despite a rise in antisemitic incidents across the country.
Jews scored a net +28 rating in the analysis released Wednesday. The study also found that Americans generally view Roman Catholics and mainline Protestants favorably but tend to view Muslims, atheists and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons, negatively.
Nonevangelicals tend to view evangelical Christians more negatively than positively, the study showed, although evangelicals eked out a 2% net favorable rating when the opinions of “born-again” and evangelical poll responders were factored in. Without those believers and without mainline Protestants, the evangelical cohort rates a -14 favorability score.
Based on a survey conducted Sept. 13-18 among 10,588 U.S. adults, the Pew analysis found that people who know someone from a particular religious group are more likely to have positive views of that group and that Americans tend to view their own group positively.
The study also noted political differences in how respondents viewed religious groups.
Pew said the study’s methodology differs from those of three previous surveys of Americans’ views about religious groups. Studies in 2014, 2017 and 2019 used a “feeling thermometer” to gauge views on a 0-100 scale, the research center said. The latest study asked respondents to rate groups “very favorable, somewhat favorable, neither favorable nor unfavorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable.” Respondents also could say they “don’t know enough to say.”